


Tale of a Dragonguard: The Cat and the Snake

by sheesh1991



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Aedra, Canon Character(s) - Freeform, Canon Setting, Canon Timeline, Canon Universe, Daedra, Destiny, Dragonguard, Elder Scrolls - Freeform, Elsweyr, F/M, Fate, Khajiit - Freeform, Lore-Friendly, Major Original Character(s), Original Character Death(s), Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Slash, Original Story in Canon Timeline, Originally Posted on FanFiction.Net, Romance, Second Era, Semi-Mystery, Senchal, Skyrim - Freeform, Tamriel, The Serpent King, Tragedy, Tsaesci
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-05-04
Updated: 2014-05-05
Packaged: 2018-01-21 22:39:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 13,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1566599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sheesh1991/pseuds/sheesh1991
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She is the last in a long line of Khajiit Dragonguards still loyal to the Throne, to the Emperor, sworn to serve, protect and advise the Serpent King. After twenty long years on adventure, Vriinja's lover finally returns to her and promises to once and for all settle down with her. However, after so long, such a relationship is bound to be strained, especially if she is to keep the love of her life and stay true to her own love of him...as well as keep other secrets hidden from him, friends and relatives. But her simple life as the last Dragonguard in the service of the Emperor, will change forever...and perhaps, even history itself will change forever. Story is based in Elsweyr, during Evening Star of 2E 188. Romantic relationships will develop, other relationships will fall apart, some with tragic consequences, in this original romance story embedded within the canonical lore of the Elder Scrolls universe.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Where it all Began - Magrus' Champion Reborn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By: Filip Lesiczka
> 
> This story was written by Filip Lesiczka. Please do not reproduce or distribute without permission.
> 
> This story is in no way affiliated with The Elder Scrolls series, Bethesda Studios, or anything else associated with TES and Bethesda Studios. All characters and names that appear in the TES series belong to Bethesda Studios; I do not own them. All original TES lore is copyrighted to Bethesda Studios. This is a fan fiction. I do not own any copyright claims. **No copyright infringement is intended.** I own only the names and characters whom I have added to this story. Again, all characters and names that appear in the TES series belong to Bethesda Studios and all other affiliates. I aim only to provide entertainment for myself and many fans of the TES series with this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Work on this story and chapter originally began on 8/9/13.**   
>  **Chapter and story were originally published on FF on 11/8/13.**

* * *

The sky and clouds brightened with a bright pallet of pink and yellow hues as the early hours of twilight melted away into the beginning of something new. With the departure of twilight, the creatures of the jungle awakened to bid farewell the dawn with a cacophony of chirps, whistles and calls. Birds sang their songs, and frogs croaked their calls, while insects chirped their delight.

Morning had at last arisen upon the coastal jungle city of Senchal.

Gentle waves quietly lapped onto the sandy beach of this coastal city; the ocean was as calm as a mirror. Sand pipers scurried across the beach, prodding and combing the sands of the beach with their long beaks in search of food.

However, as picturesque any outsider might have imagined a coastal city to be, there was nothing beautiful about the city of Senchal. Hidden amongst the jungle trees and beneath the tangled canopy, a broken and decaying city stood scattered amongst the trees. The sandy brick streets were in total disarray, disheveled, upturned and displaced by the overgrowth of shrubs and tree roots. It was not a city worth telling memorable stories of, for it was a city ruined by strife, corruption and murder. It was a city none wished to wander the streets of for too long.

Much of the city lay in ruin, left unkempt over many decades. Many homes and buildings lay abandoned, slowly but steadily crumbling to the ground and being torn apart by tree roots. Once beautiful frescos and murals now were nothing more than faded flakes of colored plaster clinging to the crumbling walls of buildings.

Only one thing within the city stood that was not suffering the same fate as the rest of the city; the Emperor's palace. A massive, gorgeous structure that rose high above the lush canopy of the city, its sandy white exterior painted with elegant and intricate designs and patterns. The architecture of the palace was very different from the rest of the city; bulky, angular corners and bulbous, rounded and curved domes adorned the top of the enormous structure with single pointed spires at the center of each dome.

The sun slowly began to peak its luminous curved edge above the horizon, illuminating the clouds with the warmth of its rays, which shot out across the sky from around the edges of the clouds. The massive palace seemed to glow as it was bathed in the warm orange light of the rising sun.

But as the residents of Senchal still slept quietly in these early hours, one figure stood witness to the spectacle that not all considered spectacular.

A lone Khajiit stood upon the ledge of one of the few tall sandstone buildings that rose above the canopy of the jungle trees, gazing upon the sun as it slowly climbed above the edge of the ocean. It was a sight she'd seen many a time, a sight she'd never grown weary of seeing and a sight she'd always cherished deeply.

It was practically a routine for her; standing upon that very ledge in the early morning hours and watching the sun steadily climb above the horizon. But the sight alone of the rising sun was not what she held most dear to her heart. There was a much deeper meaning to the rising sun that only she could understand, that only she valued and held almost sacred.

The metal plates of the Khajiit's elegant, but old and worn heavy plated armor scraped against one another as she shifted the weight of the armor upon her shoulders, and crossed her arms below the outward curve of her breast plate. Her silver eyes watched the red-orange orb as it continued to rise higher above the ocean, and its red light bathed her dark brown-orange fur in its warmth. Long, silky brown hair reached down to the middle of her back, ruffling gently in the light breeze. Her tail gently swished back and forth as she reached up with a gauntleted hand and scratched the bridge of her snout. Her gloved fingers briefly ran over the smooth skin of scars that marked the top of her snout between her eyes. But the scars also continued onto the left side of her face as well, particularly on her left cheek and lower jaw as two parallel long and thin lines of furless skin just above her left jawline. She tucked her left arm below her breast once more and shifted her weight from her left leg to her right. A long thin sheathed sword swayed slightly at her left side upon her shifting her weight.

Her name was Vriinja. She was the last of a long line of Dragonguards still loyal to the Throne, loyal to the Emperor. Behind her, the Emperor's palace glowed brilliantly in the warm rays of the sun.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head slightly as she drew a deep breath, sighing before looking back up at the sun again. _It was twenty years ago on this very day,_ Vriinja thought to herself as the bottom edge of the sun finally detached itself from the horizon completely and continued to climb up into the sky. _Twenty years ago when you left on your adventure, my love. You promised me you would not make me wait long._ She lowered her gaze to the colorful exotic birds that flitted about amongst the branches of the jungle canopy and singing joyfully to one another. Then she glanced down to the street below where a few Khajiit merchants made their ways through the overgrown and disheveled streets to their shops and businesses.

She closed her eyes again, _It has been too long since we vowed to forever be with one another…too long since you last embraced me and held me close to your heart._

A light breeze blew in from behind her. Her nose twitched to one side and her left ear swiveled backwards for a brief moment.

She opened her silver eyes and gazed up at the sun once more and said quietly to herself, "I cannot rest if I do not know what has happened to you, my love. Where are you? Are you still even alive?"

Her left ear swiveled backwards slightly once more.

Vriinja glanced over her left shoulder behind her and down slightly, looking from the corner of her eye, "You know, for a thief you're a bad sneak."

The crouching figure had come up behind her and seemed to have reached up for the large coin purse tied to her belt near her blade. Startled, the Khajiit jumped back just as Vriinja turned to face them.

Her ears lay flat against her head in annoyance, "And people wonder why the Potentate is suspicious of even his own servants. You thieves are everywhere."

The crouching figure wore the most ornate armor and clothes she'd ever seen any thief wear. A black cape was draped over only their left arm and shoulder, and an angular hood with a pointed, triangular lip was pulled over their head, obscuring the upper half of their face completely in shadow; whiskers, the end of a snout and a rosy nose protruded from below the shadow of the hood. A single diagonal scar marked their nose, starting above their right nostril opening and ending just below their left nostril opening. The top of their outfit beneath the neck was open, exposing the figure's furred chest and what looked to be a strange and elongated amulet made of bone; to Vriinja, the amulet appeared to be quite ancient. The rest of the figure's armor was dominantly made of white cloth, but there was also red decorative cloth in some areas of the strange armor. Upon their back was a long, yellow staff in the shape of a dragons head and neck. Like the amulet, the staff also appeared to be quite ancient.

The figure chuckled in a smooth, yet gravelly masculine voice as they stood up. The black cape on their left shoulder swayed away from their body slightly as they stood, and Vriinja squinted somewhat as she caught a glimpse of a strange, small orange dagger. "What makes you think I am a thief? Or even a servant of the Potentate at that?"

Vriinja snorted softly as she rested her left hand on the end of the long pommel of her blade. "If not a thief, then why, Khajiit, are you resorting to sneaking and thieving?"

The hooded Khajiit chuckled softly again as he reached beneath his cape and pulled out the small orange dagger, which was very thin and curved on one side of the blade. It almost appeared to be made to look like a serpent's fang. "I am a lover. But I am also a hunter of exquisite items." The hooded Khajiit parted his lips into a grin, showing his fangs and sharp, slightly yellowed teeth, "I'm aware that you are the last of a long generation of Dragonguards still loyal to the Throne of the Empire, even though the Dragonguard abandoned the Empire long ago. For a freelance assassin such as myself, your Akaviri blade would make for an excellent trophy."

With that, the hooded Khajiit suddenly took a step forward and lunged at her, swinging his exotic dagger at her armor plated shins, aiming for the weak point in the armored boots.

However, Vriinja had anticipated the attack and had already gracefully leapt over her attacker; she sailed over him, completely unhindered by her heavy armor. She arched her back, turning her body as if she were going to flip forward. As her body arced over her attacker, she reached across her waist with her right hand and pulled her sword free from his sheath.

At the same time, her attacker had planted his right foot down and swiftly spun around, swinging his dagger sideways at her head. As she turned in the air to face him, she too swung her sword upwards. Their blades met and a shower of sparks erupted upon contact.

Her attacker's sword arm jerked upward from the force of her counterattack, staggering him somewhat. Vriinja quickly kicked her legs ahead over her, causing her body to turn in the air to an upright position, allowing her to land on her feet. Her armor scraped and clunked as she landed heavily, bending her knees as she placed her left hand on the rooftop surface. She stood up, and the two faced each other once again.

Her attacker snickered and smirked as he started to slowly circle her, like a hungry wolf skulking around in the shadows at the edge of the light from a campfire. "Well, this will be a most interesting fight indeed. I knew you'd be skilled with the sword, but your armor does not hinder your movement as I thought it would." Vriinja pivoted on her feet to keep him directly in front of her. The Khajiit snickered again, "Someone who wears their armor as if it were a second skin is quite a rarity, especially rare for a Khajiit warrior."

Her stance was relaxed and comfortable. She stood straight, her left arm behind her back and her sword arm pointed towards her attacker. She seemed completely at ease, as if she did not expect there to be much of a challenge. "And you seem to be quite the unskilled assassin." She smirked, "Every assassin knows that to remain invisible to their mark, they must make certain their scent is undetectable." The smirk faded, and she set her firm gaze upon the hooded Khajiit, "You're not an assassin, Khajiit. That much I can tell just by looking at you. What is it you really want from me?"

"Heh. Defeat me, and I shall tell you," the Khajiit responded with a sly smile.

She chuckled softly with a light smile to hide her impatience, "Very well. This shall not take too long."

With that, she seemed to disappear into thin air. She was nothing more than a dark blur as she charged forward, her sword held downwards at an angle. In the blink of an eye she had closed the twenty foot gap between them until she was almost upon him. But at the last moment, she planted her left foot down firmly and swiftly dodged to her opponent's right side. Then, she slashed her sword upwards.

Her arm jerked backwards as the hooded Khajiit swiped her attack aside with his dagger with relative ease, causing her to stagger back a step. The Khajiit lowered his arm back down by his side. He bowed his head slightly as he smirked, "Impressive speed you have. However, you are not fast enough. Let this 'unskilled' assassin teach you a thing or two about what it truly means to be fast."

No sooner had he finished his sentence, he seemed to completely vanish in a flurry of motion.

Vriinja flattened her ears back upon him vanishing before her. Her eyes flicked to the left, then her head snapped in the same direction and she lifted her left hand up. She caught his foot in her hand and gripped it tightly. "Not fast enough!" she exclaimed with an irritated hiss as she pulled her lips back to bare her fangs.

In the blink of an eye, she pulled her left arm back with all her might, pulling him towards her. The hooded Khajiit let out a small and short startled yelp as his body lurched towards her. She raised her right leg up, pivoted on the toe of her left boot, angled her hips upward slightly and kicked her right foot out at her opponents chin as she released her hold on his foot.

The hooded Khajiit snapped his head back at the very last second and the toe of her boot barely missed his chin by a hair. He growled softly as he shot a look down at her. Vriinja could see the faint glow of blue eyes in the shadow of his hood. His grip tightened around the handle of his fang-like dagger and he thrust his right arm forward, intending to hit her square in the gut with his fist.

His fist made contact with the armor plating on her belly. However, Vriinja's own fist made contact with his belly at the same instant as his met her belly. She too had thrown a punch with her sword arm.

They flew apart in opposite directions from one another from the force of their blows. Vriinja skid backwards several feet before she stopped, leaning forward and placing a hand down on the rooftop as she caught her breath, having had the wind knocked out of her.

The hooded Khajiit landed on his side, rolling twice before he quickly picked himself up. But he too had had the wind knocked out of him from the force of Vriinja's blow, coughing somewhat as he fell to his knees gasping for breath.

She stood up and looked down upon her opponent. "I've only ever once fought someone as skilled in close-quarters combat as you are, Khajiit." The corners of her mouth curled downwards into a frown as she remembered her sparring sessions with her lover, "That was twenty years ago, with the man of my dreams." As the hooded Khajiit stood up, she lifted her left arm up and opened her palm towards him. A cylinder of swirling flames suddenly surrounded him, which caught him by surprise. He glanced about him wildly as the flames completely surrounded him, seeming to search for some way of escaping.

"Now," Vriinja said in a firm and annoyed tone as she set her silver gaze upon him, "you will tell me what it is you want with me, Khajiit. My patience is wearing thin." Her whiskers twitched slightly as the heat from the swirling inferno radiated against her face and nose.

The hooded Khajiit turned his head toward her and stood up straight, his composure completely relaxed. He sheathed his dagger, then chuckled, "Very well. I shall tell you what you want to know. But…" He raised his right hand until his palm was no more than an inch from the swirling wall of flames. Vriinja narrowed her eyes as she grew wary.

"This petty barrier won't do."

Vriinja's eyes widened in shock.

"Hrah!" the hooded Khajiit exclaimed loudly as his fingers parted. And with that, the swirling cylinder of fire flew apart as it was dispelled, with seemingly no effort at all. The flames burst away from him in all directions as a small blast wave of heat hit Vriinja.

The hooded Khajiit lowered his hand back down at his side and chuckled.

Vriinja could do nothing but stare at him in total shock. Her eyes trembled ever so slightly as her heart raced and her breaths became slightly shallow. _Could it be?_ she thought to herself as her stomach leapt into her stomach.

Then, tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. There was only one man she knew who was capable of dispelling her advanced barrier spells, a feat no one else could accomplish without putting in a large amount of effort.

"I-Is it…is it really you?" she asked stutteringly as the hooded Khajiit began to slowly approach her.

He did not reply at all. Instead, he reached up with both hands, took hold of each side of his hood and pulled it back. Her heart fluttered before skipping a beat as the sunlight fell upon his face, illuminating his grey fur and glistening in his striking sky-blue eyes, the eyes that she'd yearned to see once again for twenty years. The single diagonal scar that Vriinja always remembered started just above his right eye and ended just below the inner corner of his left eye. His grey shoulder length hair was tied up in small braids, and the familiar patch of light brown fur marked the right side of his face and the bridge of his snout.

He stopped directly in front of her. He gazed down into her eyes and she stared up at him, almost in total disbelief. Then, smiling warmly, he reached a hand up to gingerly touch her left cheek. "Hello, Vriinja…my love."

Her sword fell from her hand and clattered with a sharp metallic noise against the sandstone rooftop. A single tear rolled down the fur of her right cheek before she lunged forward into his chest. "Zavirr!" she exclaimed with a choking sob as tears began streaming over her fur and down her cheeks.

His arms wrapped around her and embraced her tightly as he angled his head downwards and touched the end of his snout on top of her head, kissing her and holding the kiss for several minutes while she cried and sobbed into the soft cloth of his chest. He reached up a hand and caressed her hair, sliding his fingers through the silky and soft brown strands as he stroked the back of her head and neck.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she uttered chokingly between sobs as she gripped the white cloth of his clothing tightly. A flurry of emotions washed over her, but happiness and anger were among the most prominent. "All this time I believed you had died on your adventure! Why did you not write to me?"

Zavirr pulled his head back and gently took hold of her by the shoulders, pushing her away so that he could look down into the shimmering pools of her silvery eyes. He smiled again after a moment, "I'm sorry that I made you wait and worry for so long, Vriinja." He lowered his gaze, "But I did not expect the Nords to be relentless in their pursuit of a petty thief like me." He glanced up at her again and placed his right hand on her cheek, gently caressing her whiskers with his thumb, "Spending fifteen years in the cold Windhelm dungeons is unpleasant. They would not even allow me a quill and parchment to write…" He smirked and held his head up high with pride, "But it will take more than their methods of torture to kill this Khajiit!"

Vriinja sniffled as she gazed up at him with a small smile. They stared into each other's eyes for several minutes before Zavirr craned his neck down and kissed her briefly on the top of her snout between her eyes. He pulled his head back, still smiling, then craned his neck down again and kissed her deeply on her lips.

It was as if she had travelled back in time, to the day he left on his adventure. The rising sun to her left, the massive palace to her right and Zavirr standing before her, holding her as he held her in a long, deep kiss, the same long and deep kiss he held her in at that very same moment. How she had longed to once again feel his passionate kiss gracing her lips once more; how she had yearned for his strong arms to embrace her lovingly into his broad and toned chest once again. Twenty years had seemed like an eternity to her, an eternity of loneliness and of constant yearning for his love again.

But none of that mattered, for her deepest desire had finally been fulfilled now that he had returned to her. All that mattered to her at that moment was that he never again let her go, that he would never again leave her alone. There was nothing else more important to her than his love. Not even the Potentate mattered to her.

But no sooner had the thought of the Potentate crossed her mind, a feeling of guilt overcame her. She had sworn to protect the Serpent King with her life and to serve as his advisor. She had forever sworn her loyalty to him as a Dragonguard and it was her duty as a Dragonguard to never waver from the path of servitude she walked. Her duty to the Emperor, to the Throne, was just as important to her as Zavirr's love.

They stood there for several long minutes, embraced in each other's arms and holding the kiss; neither of them wished to break away.

Finally, Vriinja opened her eyes and broke the kiss. She gazed up into his eyes, tears still streaming down the fur of her cheeks. Zavirr reached his left hand up, his cape sliding off his forearm and to the side, and gingerly wiped away the tears on her right cheek. Then, she sniffled as she placed her right hand on his hand, holding it against her cheek. "Promise me that you will never leave me alone again," she said in a slightly trembling voice. Her heart still raced from the previous surge of happiness, causing her hands and legs to tremble from utter joy.

Zavirr bowed his head forward to look her directly in her eyes, "It is a promise I intend to keep this time, my dearest. My time of adventuring through the lands of High Rock and Skyrim are long over." He smiled at her and caressed her cheek with his thumb, "I promise you that I will never again leave your side." He then pulled his hand back and reached under his black cape with his right hand. "And to prove that my word is true," he said as he retrieved his hand and produced a sheathed sword from beneath his cape, "I brought you a gift I am sure you will enjoy." He held the weapon out to her with a proud grin spread across his muzzle.

Her eyes fell upon the sheath, which was mildly decorated with dull colors and what appeared to be blocky pieces of bone, and instantly recognized what he was holding. "This is Magrus' Indignation!" Her eyes shot up to look at him with surprise and worry, "Zavirr, how did you acquire this? Do not tell me you-"

Zavirr cut her off with a chuckle, "No need to worry, my love. Magrus' Champion bequeathed me with this sword and his personal amulet when I passed through Torval." He handed her the sword before darting a hand behind his back and into his satchel, from which he withdrew a silver amulet with a magnificent polished diamond embedded in the center. "He said this amulet protected him from danger quite a few times in his long life." He reached his arms up over her head and spread the chain apart, bringing it down over her head and snout before allowing it to hang from her neck. "I want you to have these treasures of his," he said with a warm smile.

She picked up the beautiful amulet in her left hand and glanced down at it, admiring its silvery luster. Then she turned her eyes upon the weapon she held in her hand, a legendary weapon said to have been forged from the very bones of a slain dragon that had once terrorized the southern lands of Cyrodiil and northern lands of Elsweyr many centuries before the end of the First Era.

Vriinja could not believe she was holding the weapon of legend. She glanced up at Zavirr, "But why did Magrus' Champion bequeath his most treasured possessions to you? Why would he give you the very weapon of legend said to have slain more than a thousand dragons?"

Zavirr averted his gaze down to his feet as his expression saddened. He was silent for a few moments before he replied, still looking at his feet, "For the very reason that he has passed from this plane of Mundus." Vriinja's eye's widened in disbelief upon hearing his words, for she had never imagined the day would come when she would hear of the passing of Magrus' Champion. "He knew my father very well," Zavirr continued, "for he had been my father's mentor. He wished for his weapon to be given to someone who will make good use of it." He cast his eyes up at her face, "And so, he gave it to me when I stopped in Torval to visit him before he passed."

Vriinja's ears angled backwards as she looked down at the weapon once more, this time with a somewhat pained expression. She slowly ran her left thumb over the smooth surface of the diamond in the amulet Zavirr had placed around her neck. After a moment, she wrapped her hand around the pendant before looking up at Zavirr once more with a determined look, "I would assume that with the bestowing of Magrus' Indignation upon me, I now must bear the title of Magrus' Champion, yes?"

Zavirr nodded in response with a half-smile, "Aye. He may have wished for me to take on his title…but I am not worthy of it. I may be a mere Khajiit born into a family of status, but I am not a Khajiit worthy of bearing such an honorable title." He placed a hand on her left shoulder, "But you, my love, are more than worthy of bearing his title. You have what it takes to bear such a name with pride and hold true to its significance." His half-smile spread into a grin, "After all, you were born with the innate ability of using magic even before you could walk, as well as summoning the infinite power of fire, just like Magrus' Champion. I can think of no one else more deserving of his title than you, Vriinja."

Again, Vriinja looked to the legendary weapon in her hand. She could feel her heart rate increasing as the weight of her newfound title settled upon her shoulders. Now, she was not just a Dragonguard loyal to the Throne of the Emperor, but Magrus' Champion as well. A flood of emotions and strange sensations washed over her; her tongue went numb and the tips of her ears grew warm, while her tail flicked from side to side nervously and her hands trembled ever so slightly from the rush of blood.

She tucked the weapon beneath her right arm while she reached with both hands to undo the cloth lanyard securing her sword sheath to her waist. After a few moments fumbling around with the knot, she finally undid the knot and pulled the sheath away from her waist just as Zavirr bent forward and picked her sword up off the surface of the rooftop. When he straightened up she handed him the sheath, which he took and thrust the slender blade into while Vriinja began to secure Magrus' Indignation to her waist.

She quickly finished tying the knot on the cloth lanyard and allowed the heavy weapon to hang at her waist. It was much heavier than her old blade; the added weight felt awkward hanging at her side, but she knew that she would eventually become accustomed to the new weight at her side.

Zavirr folded his arms across his chest as he leaned back on his left foot and admired her with the legendary weapon at her side. He smirked when she looked up at him after having tucked the silvery amulet beneath her armor, "It fits you very well."

"It feels awkward," Vriinja responded as she took hold of the sheathed sword and pulled up on it, trying to make it hang as comfortably as she could.

Zavirr chuckled at that, "Don't worry. You will get used to it fairly quickly, I'm sure of that. Your profound skills as a warrior will only make it easier to get used to it." He glanced to his right as angry shouts suddenly erupted from the street below. His left ear swiveled backwards while his right remained pointing forward.

Vriinja sighed as the shouts grew louder. "They have been doing this every morning for the last five years," she said as Zavirr turned and walked over to the edge of the roof, peering over the side. "Ji'Gato and Tsavaki," she added as she walked over to stand by Zavirr's side, peering down through the branches at the two Khajiit bickering in front of a doorway, "they married ten years ago."

Zavirr smirked, "As everyone expected them to. But what have they been arguing about?"

"What everyone in this city argues over," Vriinja answered as she turned around on her heel to gaze up at the massive palace and crossed her arms over her breast plate. "Gold, food…" Her ears lay flat against her head as her expression turned to one of sadness, "A home to shelter and protect their family…"

Zavirr leaned back to look at her upon hearing her last remark, "But do they not have a home already?"

Vriinja nodded in response while still gazing at the palace, "Aye, they do. But they do not live in a home that can keep their family safe."

"Safe from thieves, I imagine, yes?"

Vriinja shook her head slowly, "It is not just the thieves they worry of. An ancient Khajiit vampire settled into a cave not far from the city a month earlier." She glanced sideways at Zavirr, "Along with him terrorizing the population, a strange, upright walking creature has been spotted numerous times in the city and trees since it first appeared two weeks ago." She shook her head, "The Serpent King shows no concern over the threat of the vampire, but has taken quite an interest in the unknown creature." She sighed and closed her eyes as she added with a dissatisfied tone, "He has me chasing after every reported sighting of the creature and has tasked me with capturing it for his collection."

Her last statement brought a chuckle out of Zavirr, "That sounds like the Serpent King. I can only imagine what it is like being his personal advisor."

Vriinja glanced sideways at him, not amused by his crude sense of humor, "I will be honest. It is sometimes not easy being an advisor to an immortal snake." She returned her gaze back towards the palace, "But I pledged my loyalty to him, and have no other choice but to serve him." She let out a dissatisfied grunt as she turned to face Zavirr, "I'm sorry, my love. But I must leave you for now. I mustn't be late to report the latest political issues to him. He does not approve of my being late to stand at his side."

Zavirr nodded understandingly, "Then do not allow me to keep you, my love." He smiled and stepped closer to her, kissing her between her eyes, "Do not worry about me. I will go and tend to your mother. I shall be there when you return."

"Thank you," Vriinja replied with a soft smile as she looked up into his sky blue eyes once more. She did not wish to leave him after just reuniting with him after twenty years apart. She wished to be embraced in his arms, in his love for the rest of her days. She did not think she could bear the entire day without him. She wanted nothing more than to stroll up and down the beach with him for the remainder of the day.

But she had to tend to her duty as guardian and advisor of the Serpent King. Her sense of duty was just as overpowering as her love of Zavirr. However, in her case, her obligation to the Potentate had to come first, lest she faced the consequences.

They gazed into one another's eyes for a few minutes longer before Zavirr smiled warmly and tapped the end of her nose with his right index finger, "Go, my love. You survived twenty years without me, so I am certain you can survive yet another day without me. Now go."

Vriinja hesitated for a brief moment, unable to tear her eyes away from his. Then, she set off at a jog to the opposite side of the rooftop and leapt off the ledge and landed on a large tree branch below. She jumped nimbly from tree to tree before she dropped down to the overgrown street below. Then, she took off at a very swift pace in the direction of the Serpent King's palace; to anyone in the street she passed by, she appeared to be nothing more than a dark blur as she darted by.

Zavirr stood at the ledge she had just leapt from as he admired the huge structure in the distance, a slight breeze causing his braids to sway somewhat. Then he smirked, "I wonder how much more in riches that old snake has accumulated in the last twenty years. I should pay his vault a visit one of these days and see for myself. Might be something exquisite in there this time around."

He chuckled to himself as he reached up with both hands and pulled the hood over his head again. Holding Vriinja's old Akaviri blade in his left hand, he turned and ran towards the opposite ledge, then leapt gracefully into the air, flipped once and fell to the hay pile in the street below.

Birds sang their songs merrily away, frogs gruntingly croaked their calls and the insects greeted the new day with a cacophony of their delighted chirps. Meanwhile, the sun continued with its journey across the sky.

And so the new day marked the beginning of a tale, forged by the reunion of two lovers. No one could ever comprehend how this tale could possibly affect history forever.

**Ω**

**End Chapter One**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **5/4/14: Alright, so this story was something I never thought I'd ever dapple in. It's something that was completely unexpected, to be honest. It started when I tried to write a Skyrim romance story. But after a rather disappointing amount of no views on FF, I took it down and ceased work on it all together. Then, while roleplaying through Skyrim on one of my over 30 characters I've made for that particular story, the back story I developed for one of the characters began to really grow on me. She's a Khajiit warrior under the service of Emperor Titus Mede II, acting as his bodyguard everywhere he goes. But she's no ordinary Khajiit warrior. She's the last Khajiit Dragonguard alive in Tamriel still loyal to the Empire. How could she be a Dragonguard, you ask? Because she was not born in the Fourth Era. She was born in Elsweyr in the Second Era, while Tamriel and the Empire were under the reign of Versidue-Shaie. Through a series of events, she was eventually catapulted forward through time into the Fourth Era by a mad Khajiit battle mage, thanks to the use of an Elder Scroll. This characters back story grew on me to the point that I decided I would turn it into a full blown romance story, detailing her life as the Serpent Kings personal adviser and bodyguard...as well as something else. So, the first chapter was written after a few months of procrastination and arduous struggling with trying to figure out how I wanted to tell her story.**   
>  **I just want to make it clear that there will be some mild nudity in future chapters, as well as certain implications. Those certain implications won't be described or written outright into the story, but they will be implied in various ways. And also, since this is my very first, full blown romance story, I'd like to ask a favor of any of you romantics to please tell me what's good and what's bad, and where I can improve the story thus far. Like I always say, I'm a novice writer of close to 10 years, and I'm always looking to improve my skills as a writer.**   
>  **But anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter to my first romance story! It really was a lot of fun developing this story, even if there won't be any true scifi elements in the story.**


	2. Original Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> By: Filip Lesiczka
> 
> This story was written by Filip Lesiczka. Please do not reproduce or distribute without permission.
> 
> This story is in no way affiliated with The Elder Scrolls series, Bethesda Studios, or anything else associated with TES and Bethesda Studios. All characters and names that appear in the TES series belong to Bethesda Studios; I do not own them. All original TES lore is copyrighted to Bethesda Studios. This is a fan fiction. I do not own any copyright claims. **No copyright infringement is intended.** I own only the names and characters whom I have added to this story. Again, all characters and names that appear in the TES series belong to Bethesda Studios and all other affiliates. I aim only to provide entertainment for myself and many fans of the TES series with this story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Work on this chapter originally began on 1/30/14.**   
>  **Chapter was originally published on FF on 5/5/14.**

* * *

It all looked the same to him. Nothing had changed, except for the overgrowth of shrubs, grasses and tree saplings, and the gradual erosion of the sandstone houses and buildings. Even the upturned sandy brick streets looked the same wherever there was no overgrowth of shrubs.

Birds flitted in the branches of the tree canopies above as he made his way through the waist high shrubs and grasses of the familiar streets, just like he'd done twenty years before. Even the stench of death, disease and filth in the air was the same. How he'd missed it all, yet at the same time loathed it as well. While on his return journey through Cyrodiil, he had hoped that he would return to a new yet still familiar city. He had hoped for it, but he did not expect for that hope to be true at all.

And Zavirr had been right to not expect for any change to occur during his absence. He sighed as he passed the familiar decrepit buildings leading into the central square of the city. It was all the same, except the isles of merchant stands that had once crowded the square were now gone. In place of all the stands, there were nothing more than piles of rotten wood and deteriorating cloths.

In the center of the square was the gargantuan Elderleaf tree that had been there ever since Zavirr could remember. Huge and thick jungle vines reached down from the huge canopy of Senchal's six-hundred year old resident tree, some even taking root between the bricks. The massive gnarled trunk of the tree itself was covered in a tangled web-work of likewise gnarled and mossy vines.

He made his way through the square amongst the broken merchant stands. Occasionally, a few rats scurried away into the wood piles as he walked on, frightened by the sound of his footfalls on the sandy brick stone of the square.

There was the distinct sense of nostalgia as he walked through the square and the familiar stench of the city burned his nostrils, a feeling he'd yearned for during his years of imprisonment in Windhelm. He paused as he gazed up at the umbrella-like canopy of the Elderleaf tree. There hadn't been a day that went by where he did not dream of looking up into the branches and leaves of the Elderleaf tree once more. Not a day passed where he hadn't escaped into his memories of climbing up and jumping amongst those branches with Vriinja when they were only young cubs.

Zavirr sighed and continued on his way out of the square. He had been absent for far too long. He thought about how his family, the wealthy Jaoni family, had fared without him. He wondered if his father had finally found the success in his shipping business he had always talked about once more achieving. He itched to know how much his youngest sister had grown; she had been a small cub, barely able to walk, when he had left on his journey.

But a sobering thought entered his mind as he stepped over a pile of rotten planks. How would his family receive his return after so long? He had been gone longer than he had promised. It was perhaps almost inevitable that they would have come to believe he had died on his journey. He wrinkled his nose, displeased with himself for his actions and decisions in Windhelm. He hated breaking his own promises to his family…and to Vriinja.

As he neared the street leading out of the square in the direction of the ocean, Zavirr wondered to himself, _Will father ever forgive me?_ He sighed again, _Will Yanji even know who I am?_ He frowned to himself as another thought crossed him, _What will they all think of me? Can they come to accept my return after all these years?_

Upon exiting the square, he became immediately aware of the feeling of eyes watching him. It was an instinctive sense that all Khajiit possessed, but as a thief he'd been trained to hone that sense into a useful skill of stealthy defense and a deadly weapon.

He drew a deep breath as that instinctive feeling took over all of his senses, giving him the sensation that time had slowed around him. In the blink of an eye, his blue eyes darted to his upper left, towards a darkened hole in the second story wall of a decrepit building; then he glanced into a darkened alleyway to his immediate right. A breeze rolled in from behind him, bringing with it a scent to his nostrils and alerting him to another presence behind him. In that same instant, he glanced down towards his feet, noting that the sun cast the shadows of the branches and leaves above on the ground, as well as the silhouette of a humanoid figure perching in the branches directly above him.

His eyes shot upwards as he stopped. A white speckled Khajiit wearing sleeveless dark crimson leather armor had stepped out from another alleyway and stopped in the middle of the street, turning to face him. He couldn't see their face beneath the leather hood they wore, but their white ears protruded from earholes cut out of the top of the hood. Half of their left ear was missing, cut cleanly off at a diagonal angle. The tip of their right ear was also missing, having been bitten off. A grin spread across the Khajiit's white muzzle.

Zaviir smirked, "So…is this how you welcome back old friends, Qa'Haejo?"

The white speckled Khajiit chuckled as he spoke in a gritty masculine voice, "Vaba. You did abandon the guild to leave on your pointless journey after all, Ra'Zavirr-Dar."

Zavirr's ears twitched as he heard multiple scuffing sounds of boots brushing against the sandy ground. He glanced about him; the Khajiit on either side of him had stepped out of the shadows. "When did you become such a renrij, Haejo? Is the guild we built together full of renrij like yourself now? Or is this all that is left of what we established?"

The Khajiit named Qa'Haejo snorted in response while still grinning, "I don't need to tell a ghost of the past anything about my guild." No sooner had he finished his sentence did he raise his right hand up and snapped his fingers.

Zavirr closed his eyes with a chuckle as the sound of a flurry of boot scuffs rushed towards him. In an instant he ducked down and pushed back, thrusting his body backwards as three steel blades slashed at the empty air where his head had been. His back made contact with the Khajiit who had rushed him from behind, eliciting a hoarse grunt from the attacker as the wind was knocked out of him. With the Khajiit practically resting on his back with their sword arm thrown over his right shoulder, Zavirr thrust his head upwards forcefully. The back of his head slammed into his attacker's face, causing them to stagger backwards as they clutched at their face in pain.

He wasted no time in reaching beneath his cape for the ancient dagger he'd recovered from the ancient Dragon Cult stronghold of Forelhost. He countered several attacks of the other two Khajiit in a shower of sparks, taking several steps backwards. Meanwhile, the Khajiit he'd managed to stagger before had regained his composure and charged at him again with an angry snarl, his steel sword raised high above his head.

In a flurry of motion, Zavirr sidestepped to his left to avoid a brash head-on attack by the female Khajiit on his left. He seemed to appear out of thin air directly behind the female Khajiit. He then chuckled as he slammed his right elbow into her back, sending her into a forward stagger to regain her balance, but only managing to run directly into the charging male Khajiit.

They collided with one another, their faces ramming together. Both yelped loudly as they collided, the male losing his grip on his sword as they both fell to the ground.

Zavirr jumped back several times as the remaining Khajiit slashed haphazardly while lunging forward at him. He avoided the younger male's dagger until he'd been backed up against the decrepit structure the female Khajiit had emerged from. The young male laughed as he lunged at Zavirr again, swinging the dagger at his throat.

However, Zavirr had swiftly switched his dagger to his left hand while reaching his right hand up, catching the young male's hand in mid-swing. Then, he hopped forward with a push of his left foot against the wall while turning in the air and placed his left fist on the small of the younger male's back. Then, he pushed off against him, releasing his hold on the male's right wrist. The force of the push and the momentum of his failed attack sent the young male face-first into the wall of the crumbling building. He collapsed to the brush beneath in an instant.

Zavirr landed softly in the middle of the street as he looked from the unconscious young male, to the other two Khajiit still sprawled out on the ground next to one another, groaning in pain as they held their faces in their hands. Then, he turned and faced Haejo once more, sheathing his dagger beneath the cape draped over his left arm.

They stared at one another for several seconds before Zavirr snickered with a smirk. "Did you think I forgot about you?" he asked, seemingly to direct the question towards the white speckled Khajiit. But as he finished his sentence, he reached his right hand behind his back and pulled the ancient staff off his back, the staff he had recovered from Forelhost as well. He stepped off to his right, twirling the staff several times between his fingers just as another female Khajiit fell down from the branches above. He grasped the staff in both hands as it finished another revolution, threw his arms above his head and swung down with all his might.

The dragon shaped head of the staff made contact with her back while she was still midair from her fall. The force of the impact threw her arms and legs above her before she slammed into the ground in a small cloud of sandy dust.

Zavirr straightened up as he twirled the staff in his hand one more time before returning it upon his back as the young female Khajiit reached both hands to her back, and began groaning and coughing in pain. He looked at Haejo once more, this time with a smirk on his muzzle. The smile faded from Haejo's muzzle in turn.

"Was it really necessary to tell them that I was traitor to the guild?" Zavirr asked as he approached the white speckled Khajiit, still grinning. "They wouldn't have had to suffer the embarrassment. Why did you not just tell them what I really mean to you?"

He stopped directly in front of the white speckled Khajiit, who in turn reached up and pulled the leather hood back from their face. Like the fur of his arms, Haejo's face was white but without any darker spots. A single vertical scar started directly above his right eye, crossed over his eye and ended just below his wide cheekbone. His right eye had completely turned a milky white, most likely a result from the injury that had left the scar; his left eye on the other hand was a brilliant jade color.

"I had to be sure it really was you. The guild had come to believe you were dead for a very long time," Haejo replied, a smile returning to his muzzle. "You're a sight for this sore old eye, Z'virr," he said with a chuckle and the two hugged, patting one another on the back.

"And you as well, Haejo," Zavirr said with a soft laugh of joy.

Haejo took hold of him by the shoulders and they parted. "By the Moons, you have not aged one bit!" Haejo said with a grin as he looked Zavirr up and down. "Still the dashing young apprentice I remember before you left. Perhaps now with many more stories to tell and wiser than your old master, hmm?"

Zavirr chuckled at that while shaking his head, "Stories, yes. Wiser than my mentor? I do not believe so."

"Why not? After such a long journey, you're bound to have many more experiences than I could ever compare to, no?"

"Heh, I think not. I may have many stories to tell, but not nearly enough experience to make me the wiser one here," Zavirr answered. He drew a deep breath, "One does not experience much more than pain and torment at the hands of Nords when imprisoned for fifteen years in the cold dungeons of the Palace of the Kings in Windhelm."

Haejo grimaced somewhat upon hearing that, "Oof. So that is where you've been all this time. How did they come to lock you up?"

"Bah!" Zavirr threw his arms up, "The Nords will use anything and any excuse to put blame on an outsider, especially a Khajiit!" He averted his gaze in embarrassment and reached up to scratch his left cheek, "However, they had reason to imprison me. One of the damned stewards saw a dark figure slipping out one of the windows in Queen Freydis' quarters." He grimaced, "That figure happened to be me, but they had nothing to go on…yet they still locked me up."

Haejo chuckled as he patted Zavirr on his left shoulder, "Well, at least now you can call yourself a genuine Dar! I know of only one other who was imprisoned for just as long as you before he managed to escape." He grinned as the two of them began laughing.

"You never did tell me how you managed to escape from that damned snakes' dungeons," Zavirr said with a smirk. "I only managed to escape because one of the maids tasked with delivering my daily meals neglected one day to check me for any utensils I may have hidden."

Haejo inhaled deeply while reaching a hand up to groom his white mustache as he turned and stepped in the direction Zavirr had been headed before. He then called over his shoulder towards the two Khajiit lying next to one another, "S'vek, Yizmandi, take the cubs back to the Lunar Den. I shall be taking a walk." The white speckled Khajiit glanced at Zavirr, indicating towards him to follow, "Come, let us walk together. It will be just like old times."

ͼͽ

An idle flick of the tail to the right indicated that not a sliver of attention was devoted to what was being discussed amongst the court members. A twitch of whiskers to the left told of how little care there was for being present in the court chambers.

While the court members spoke in their native tongues, silver eyes gazed out one of the stained glass windows absent-mindedly and pointed ears remained in a relaxed state. Meanwhile, the distinct sound of hissing and almost angry-like spitting drawls resounded throughout the courtroom walls.

As her mind wandered, a small but subtle smile spread across her muzzle. She had not a care in the world for what the court members were arguing about; she rarely did. All that mattered to her at that point in time was that she fulfilled her duties for the day and to return home to be embraced in his arms once more.

She dreamed of resting her head upon his chest and listening to his heartbeat for hours on end; of holding hands while strolling down the shoreline like they'd done so many years before; and of at last starting the family they had both dreamed of starting.

A seemingly angry spit echoed around the room, breaking Vriinja from her daydream. She turned her attention towards the center of the court chamber, where the Tsaesci court members were all coiled up in a circle, leaving the center floor empty.

All of them were similar in appearance, minus their scale patterns and coloration, and their jewelry. But their overall anatomy was the same; the lower, long and thick serpentine body of a snake, the upper body of a humanoid-like torso with likewise humanoid-like arms and hands, and the neck and head of a snake.

Many of them wore beautifully crafted jewelry framed in all sorts of precious metals, while others wore fine velvet or silk linens with elaborate patterns in a dazzling array of shades and tints that complemented each individual's scales.

Vriinja's silver eyes flicked over to the largest of the Tsaesci present in the court chambers as another angry-like hissing drawl from another court member echoed amongst the red marble columns of the room. She felt her cheeks and the tips of her ears grow warm as she realized he was staring at her, with a seemingly dreamy look in his brilliant gold serpentine eyes.

He was only about a fifth larger than the rest of his court, but still large enough that it was a noticeable difference. His scales were of a light shade of brown, with darker brown lines forming distinct but random patterns on his humanoid torso.

Unlike the other court members, a large skin protrusion starting behind his head extended out on either side of his neck like a hood, eerily similar to the venomous colossal snakes of the Tenmar Forest Vriinja was very familiar with. A small gold ring was pierced through the lower end of his left nostril, with a lengthy polished gold chain attached to it. The chain hung in a smooth low arc to where it was hooked to another larger gold ring pierced through the edge of the left side of his hood. Other golden jewelry piercings adorned his hood while dazzling gemstones rested atop his head, brow ridges and around his eyes, having been glued in place to keep them from falling.

It seemed that even the Serpent King himself was not immune to losing focus on important matters at hand.

Another hissing drawl echoed through the court room, causing the two of them to look away from one another and towards the individual who was speaking.

Potentate Versidue-Shaie responded to his kinsman with a series of spits and soft hissing inflections as he spoke in his native tongue. Having been around the snake people for twenty years, Vriinja had become familiar with the alien language, able to understand most of what was being said. Her ears twitched as she finally turned her attention to what was being said.

"…will think over your proposal, Faizna. I see the reason behind your proposal, but I will need to consult with my advisor." His golden eyes flicked towards Vriinja for a very brief moment before looking back at the dark brown and lithe female Tsaesci. "I must be absolutely certain that I will not be wasting valuable resources and essential men to rebuild Blackrose," he added as he spoke in his singsong, smoky and gravelly voice.

He glanced about the court, seemingly to wait for anyone to make another proposal for the war efforts. He'd had just about enough of the campaigns against the individual kingdoms, but all the same he knew he could not give up if peace were to be brought to the Empire and Tamriel. All of the political proposals, the rations, even the military reports; he'd grown very weary of them in the last one-hundred and eighty-eight years.

But no one else spoke to give another proposal. It was almost as if they'd all run out of ideas to propose in order to help with the war efforts. His eyes flicked about the room at each of the court members before he resumed speaking, "Now, if there is nothing further to be said upon the subject of the war…you are all dismissed."

ͼͽ

A long hissing sigh came from him as soon as he had reclined back into the ornate polished wooden and gold-leaf chair, his thick coils encircling around the outside of all four legs. An Imperial woman with stunning shoulder length blonde hair and almost completely nude, save for thin white silk strips wrapped around her breasts and waist, hurried forward from behind a nearby curtain, bearing a tray with a glass pitcher of dark red liquid and a silver jeweled goblet. She hastily filled the goblet and presented it to Versidue.

The large Tsaesci reached a hand forward as he smiled, caressing the tanned woman's cheek with the backs of his fingers before lifting the goblet from the tray. "Thank you, Anoria," he said with an alluring tone in his silvery voice, "you may take the rest of the day off."

The woman's face lit up briefly before she bowed in an attempt to hide her relief. Then, she hurried off, disappearing behind the curtain she had emerged from.

Vriinja's whiskers twitched as she walked up the two steps leading up the raised platform and stood off to his right, "You have been very generous to the servants in the last month." She glanced sideways at him, "It is somewhat unlike you, Versy. Has something changed?"

The large Tsaesci raised the goblet to his scaly lips and sipped the red liquid. Then, he lowered the goblet and flicked his slender forked tongue out several times as he swallowed. "Ah, there is nothing like the Bloodwine from those lizards of the marshes and swamplands," he said, seemingly ignoring what she'd asked of him. "It is a shame that it is not literally made from the very essence of an Argonian. Now that is a fine taste worth savoring."

Her ears swiveled back slightly in annoyance. She disliked him avoiding her questions, "Don't avoid the question, Versy. Something has obviously changed with you." She crossed her arms over her breastplate.

His right golden eye turned upon her, "I should be asking the same of you, my dear Vriinja." His tongue flicked out, batting up and down twice before withdrawing back into the groove in his scaly lips. "The air about you has…shifted, shall we say. Your original fire has returned. But there is something else…" His eye flicked down to the sword hanging at her waist, "Where did you come to acquire such an exquisite weapon?"

Her left hand rested upon the pummel of Magrus' Indignation. A subtle smile graced her muzzle as she thought about Zavirr. But she could not reveal his return to the Potentate. At least, not yet.

"A courier brought this weapon to me this morning," she lied. She was tempted to pull the weapon free from its sheath, to see for herself the legendary blade, crafted from the bones of a mighty dragon and forged in coals that had been bathed in dragon's fire. But she resisted the urge. Instead, she just gripped the handle firmly, "This is Magrus' Indignation."

Versidue's black pupil widened as he turned his head and stared in disbelief, "What?!"

"I was in disbelief myself when the courier told me that it was the very weapon wielded by Magrus' Champion himself. I could not believe it one bit," she continued, now gently caressing the ebony handle. "But this is that same legendary blade."

"Why was a courier in possession of the Champion's weapon?" Versidue asked as he eyed the weapon, admiring the intricate design of the ancient weapon's sheath.

The smile faded from her lips as her ears dropped flat against her head and a pained look appeared in her eyes. She was silent for a few moments while she gazed down at the weapon at her waist. Then, she drew a deep breath and spoke, "Magrus' Champion has passed from this plane of Mundus."

Versidue shook his head, "A shame."

"My father was once his pupil, did you know that?" Vriinja lied as she looked up at the large Tsaesci, who shook his head silently. She intended on keeping Zavirr's return a secret for as long as possible; using his own story as her own would have to work for the time being, "Magrus' Champion was his mentor when he was only fifteen years of age. It seems…it seems that Magrus' Champion wished for someone worthy to bequeath his treasured weapon to."

"He could not have chosen anyone more worthy," Versidue stated with a smile as he raised the silver goblet to his lips once more and sipped the wine. A sly look appeared to his smile, "Just as I could not have chosen anyone more capable and worthy of being my advisor."

"I'm flattered," Vriinja responded, hiding her sarcasm as best as she could. She looked up at him once more, "You still haven't answered my question, Versy. I've answered yours, now it's your turn. Has _your_ original fire changed?"

The smile on his scaly lips lessened somewhat before he sighed, "I won't lie. My mind has not been as focused on political affairs as it once was."

"I have taken notice myself," Vriinja said, a slight smirk appearing on her muzzle. "You've become very…absent-minded during recent court meetings. I've caught you staring at me on more than one occasion…" A shiver ran down her spine but she retained her smug composure, "Staring rather dreamily, if I might add." She turned to face him, "Versy, you're daydreaming is beginning to have an effect on your ability to run this Empire. It is becoming worrisome, especially amongst the court members."

Versidue hissed in response, "Preposterous! I am fully capable of leading this Empire as I was the day I took over after the unfortunate assassination of Reman III!" Vriinja rolled her eyes at that, prompting another hiss from him, "Glazae nandavah! Don't patronize me, my dearest Vriinja. What's more, the court members have nothing to worry about. I am merely…"

"Becoming lazy, perhaps?"

The Tsaesci tilted his head back and looked down at her with his right eye, attempting to appear menacing. But Vriinja maintained her smug appearance still, fully aware that he was merely playing with her. Then, he sighed as he hung his head forward, "Perhaps I am, I won't lie."

"Then I suggest you hold off on any more meetings for the coming weeks, maybe even for the rest of the month." Versidue seemed to grow tense at that, "It will be of benefit to you, Versy. As your advisor, I strongly suggest you take a…" She paused to search for the correct word to use, "A vacation from your political affairs." She stepped forward, reaching her right hand out and lifting his head up by his chin until he was looking at her once more. She closed her eyes and smiled, "Every king and ruler needs time off from the hectic political life so they may return anew with a fresh mind and clear head."

Versidue gazed at her smiling face for a few moments before he spoke, "Perhaps you are correct." The corners of his scaly lips curled up into a smile once more, "I knew I appointed the right person as my personal advisor when I chose you, rather than my own son."

Vriinja straightened up as she stepped back, folding her arms over her breastplate once more, "Speaking of your son, how is he?"

He raised the goblet and sipped from it once more before answering, "He is still suffering from the illness, but he is beginning to recover. He will remain confined to his quarters for the remainder of the week, however."

"Have you not sought out any help for him? It is a common disease among my people. The proper medicinal herbs and ingredients should be of benefit to him."

Versidue shook his head, "No. Our bodies work differently than yours, dear Vriinja." He cocked his head down to look at his reflection in the little remaining wine with one eye, "I won't risk his life on herbs that are beneficial to your people, but possibly toxic to mine." He swirled the wine, distorting his reflection, "For all I know, those specific herbs may do him more harm than good."

Vriinja nodded as he looked at her with his right eye, "I understand."

No sooner had she finished speaking did she suddenly become aware of a shadowy figure on Versidue's left. Vriinja's hand instinctively gripped the handle of her weapon, but she relaxed a second later upon realizing who it was. At the same time, Versidue's tongue flicked out and batted up and down several times as he looked to his left.

She hissed in frustration, "Jirro, how many times have I told you _not_ to do that? Why can't you be more like your brother, who speaks at the door before appearing?"

The crouching shadowy figure looked up at her. Their left eye opened, glowing in a deep red color. "For the reason that this one is the shadows…Ja," he said in a toneless, gruff voice.

She growled, flattening her ears in annoyance, "That is not my name, Qa'Jirro. You do know how to irk a woman the right way."

"Enough," Versidue said with a soft hiss. "Ja'ana onsiet gi, Vriinja."

"Tch," Vriinja responded as she shot the large snake an irritated look. "Acting my age has nothing to do with instinct, Versy. I am a syffim, sworn to protect you with my life. You should know by now that I instinctively respond to whatever startles me." She eyed the shadowy Khajiit, who was completely engulfed by darkness save for his glowing left eye, "That includes this renrij showing up unexpectedly."

Versidue turned his right eye upon her and she looked away, her nose wrinkling in annoyance. Then, he turned his attention to the shadowy Khajiit, "Now what brings you to my quarters, Qa'Jirro?"

"This one overheard the blacksmith talking to a group about having done some sort of business with the strange creature Ja and Jirro are tasked with tracking and capturing."

The large snake turned his head to look directly at the shadowy Khajiit, "He did business with the creature, you say?"

Qa'Jirro's glowing red eye bobbed up and down as he nodded, "Aye. From what he described of the creature…it reminds this one of historical descriptions of the Lilmothiit."

"What?!" both Vriinja and Versidue exclaimed in unison.

"A Lilmothiit here?" Vriinja asked.

"I had presumed their kind to be extinct," Versidue added. "Are you positive about what he described?"

"Jirro is almost certain, your greatness…the blacksmith put emphasis on the head. He described it as being very similar to that of the foxes the Dro from Riverhold occasionally sells as pets."

"Very similar to the foxes of Skyrim you say?" Versidue said as he scratched the bottom of his lower jaw with his right hand.

"Interesting," Vriinja said. "What about this…'business' the blacksmith participated in with this Lilmothiit? Did you find anything interesting?"

Qa'Jirro's glowing left eye blinked as he looked from Versidue to Vriinja, "This one didn't find anything unusual, save for a very…strange dagger the likes of which he has never seen before."

"Do tell," Versidue said as he lifted the goblet to his lips, sipping from it gingerly.

"It…glowed, your greatness. The entire blade looked like the gracefully arched backbone and serrated edge of an Elderleaf tree leaf, but the blade itself glowed white…with small bubbles of light rising from the blade every few brief seconds." He paused, and Vriinja could sense his mood change to disappointment, "Jirro would have taken it to show you, your greatness…but the blacksmith placed some kind of ward around it…a ward the likes of which this one has never encountered before in his life."

Versidue turned his head and glanced at Vriinja. "It's too much of a coincidence that Faizna brought up her proposal for Blackrose," he said, the tips of his forked tongue quickly darting out from between his lips.

Vriinja had come to recognize his expressions like the back of her hand. She'd especially come to distinguish each of his emotions from how he batted his tongue. She knew he was very excited with this information, "Perhaps. But perhaps it may be just that; a coincidence. Her proposal was to build a prison, Versy. Not rebuild it as a settlement."

"Maybe," he said with a speculative note in his voice. "But for her to make such a proposal, and now we learn that the creature may likely be a Lilmothiit…I'd like to believe it is too much of a coincidence."

Vriinja sighed. He always preferred to believe in the supernatural, rather than the logical. "Jirro, thank you for the information. I shall follow up on this as soon as possible. You are dismissed."

Qa'Jirro's glowing red eye narrowed somewhat, as if he were glaring at her. Then, he closed his eye…and the two of them were alone in the room once more.

The two of them were silent for a few moments. Versidue raised the goblet to his lips before Vriinja broke the silence, "When will you ever confirm my suspicions of him being a vampire?"

"Never," the Tsaesci responded immediately, looking down into his goblet to see that it was empty. His tongue flicked out from the groove in his lips, batting up and down three times before retreating between his lips, an indication that Vriinja knew to be his disappointment in having an empty goblet in his hand. "I will neither confirm nor deny him being a vampire."

"Why? Why is it so important that you keep what he is a secret?"

Versidue glanced towards her, "It is not that it is important I keep it a secret, dear Vriinja. It is a matter of not breaking his trust…" He looked away towards the doors to his quarters as his tongue darted out, batting up and down once in a sluggish manner.

Vriinja cocked her head, aware from his tongue flick that there was something else he wanted to say, but was hesitant of it, "But?"

Versidue let out a hissing sigh as he reached up and flicked the gold chain hanging from his left nostril opening and hood with a finger, "But, I will say this; he is…something unusual."

"Unusual…such as the supposed Lilmothiit we have scurrying about the city?"

Versidue snapped his fingers, and a rosy pink female Argonian with a bright white plumage of feathers on her head, also nearly naked save for thin white silk strips wrapped over her breasts and waist, emerged from behind the curtains the Imperial woman had emerged from earlier. She hurried forward with the same tray and glass pitcher, and Versidue placed the goblet on the tray. "Thank you, Saisha. You may go," he said with a subtle smile. He stood up from the chair, "But, I'd like you to be back in my quarters tonight."

The Argonian named Saisha blinked her brilliant orange eyes, seemingly hesitant of something. Then, she bowed and hurried off to disappear behind the curtain again.

Versidue glanced at Vriinja, "Perhaps just as unusual as our Lilmothiit. But I won't say anything more than that." His body uncoiled from around the ornate chair and slithered forward towards the doors to his quarters. Vriinja followed him, walking at his side, "Now, I'd like you to follow up on Qa'Jirro's report immediately."

"What about reviewing our available men and resources?"

She pushed the doors open for the large snake and he slithered out onto the polished white marble floor of the corridor. Much like the court room, the white marble ceilings of all the corridors within the palace were a good two stories tall.

"We can worry about that later," Versidue replied, his smoky and gravelly voice echoing down the corridor as Vriinja walked beside the large snake. "For now, Qa'Jirro's report is of the utmost importance. And do whatever it takes to acquire that dagger he mentioned."

Vriinja closed her silver eyes and sighed quietly. "Very well," she responded. "Then I shall be on my way."

"Excellent. But do be careful, dear Vriinja. Qa'Jirro said he'd never encountered such magic the blacksmith used to protect the dagger." He turned his golden left eye down towards her, "If he has never encountered it before, it warrants strict caution."

Vriinja bowed her head, "I will take the utmost of care, then."

Versidue smirked, "Good. Now, make haste."

In the blink of an eye, Vriinja was nothing more than a blur as she leaped out a nearby window. It was her duty to waste no time in following a direct order from the Serpent King.

Not only that, but the less time she wasted, the sooner she would be in Zavirr's arms by the end of the day.

ͼͽ

His tail flicked from side to side as he digested the story his old friend had just told him while they walked side-by-side down a street so very familiar to him.

"The old snake was rather furious, I'll have you know," Haejo added with a chuckle.

"I can only imagine what an angry snake looks like," Zavirr smirked.

"His 'inescapable dungeon' proved to be anything but," the white-speckled Khajiit stated, kicking at a lone rat in the street as it scurried out of the way. "Dangerous? Yes. A maze? Most certainly. Dark and filthy? Aye. Inescapable?" He shook his head with a chuckle, "Not a chance."

"And he made no attempt to recapture you?"

"No. He was much too 'preoccupied' at the time I escaped."

They both turned right onto another street; the street was completely different from the rest, as there were no shrubs and overgrowth growing between the stones in the street, no tree roots upturning the stones. It was a well-manicured street. Zavirr was immediately hit with a feeling of nostalgia as they walked towards the docks at the end of the street. Haejo's voice faded as Zavirr's childhood memories washed over him while they walked further down the street.

The days he spent playing hide and seek with Vriinja when they were cubs; the afternoons spent playing in the street with his friends and siblings; they were all fond memories that he cherished deeply.

A young Khajiit couple emerged from one of the buildings further down the street. Between the two of them, holding his mother and fathers' hands, was a young cub dressed in fine blue and yellow garb. The couple turned towards them and drew nearer as he and Haejo walked in their direction.

The cub glanced up at him with brilliant blue eyes, gazing at him with a look of what appeared to be a mixture of awe and contemplation.

The young Khajiit couple both lifted the cub between them into the air, his legs and feet kicking out ahead of him as he was completely horizontal for a brief moment before the couple gently put him back on the ground. All the while, the cub giggled and laughed hysterically with joy.

The couple and their cub passed him on his left, a laugh coming from behind him from the burly male. Zavirr stopped and turned around…but the street was empty. His eyes flicked about rapidly as he searched for the couple. They couldn't have gone far in less than a second; he knew there were no places for them to hide from view, much less disappear around a corner in that short amount of time.

"Ey!" Haejo barked, startling him from his trance. Zavirr turned to face the old white speckled Khajiit, who stood several feet in front of him and giving him a questioning look. "You look like you've just seen a ghost. What's wrong?"

Zavirr turned back to search down the empty street behind him once more, silent for a few seconds. "I…I'm just reliving my childhood."

Haejo chuckled as he stepped over to him and patted him on his right shoulder, "Ah, experiencing the nostalgia? Feeling that old original fire coming to life once again, eh?"

Zavirr looked back at the old Khajiit, a subtle smile gracing his lips, "Nostalgia, yes. I feel something coming to life again, but it's not the original fire that once drove me to plunder the old snakes vaults."

Haejo grunted in response, "Well, everyone's original fire eventually dies at some point in their lives." The two resumed walking down the street towards the docks. "My own died not long after you left on your journey. I'm too old to be going out to the palace and rummaging through the snake's vaults. I'm content with just teaching my skills and passing my knowledge on to the cubs that join the guild each year…and sitting behind my desk."

Zavirr let out a hearty laugh at that, "You've become lazy, my friend! But on the subject of our guild, how goes our operations' in Corinthe and Riverhold?"

Haejo crossed his arms over his chest as he contemplated what to say. He chewed on his lower lip, "Well, the flow of gold in Corinthe began steadily decreasing a few years after you left. Our operation there struggled to maintain business, and eventually I was forced to cease all contracts and shut down our operation there last year." He sighed and shook his head, "Ji'Vhar wasn't very happy, but I've since appointed him as operations coordinator in Riverhold."

Zavirr glanced at the old Khajiit, "Is he at least happy with his new position? I remember when he was a cub that he always wanted to be assigned to Riverhold."

"He is," Haejo said with a heavy sigh. "But he hasn't been the same since."

"How so?"

Haejo shook his head, "It seems that Corinthe had grown on him by the time I shut down the operation. Not only that…but no one from the Corinthe operation left to join the Riverhold operation like he did."

Zavirr nodded his head as he looked ahead of him, his eyes settling upon a rather large, three story structure built of wood near the docks not far from them. "I see," he replied. "He misses his comrades. Anyone part of such a guild would miss their comrades if they all went their separate ways."

"Mmhm," Haejo responded with a slight nod of his head. "We're not just a group of thieves…we're a family."

Zavirr turned his gaze down to his feet as they approached the docks, his ears lying flat against his head and a pained look appearing in his eyes, "Aye…family." He drew a deep breath as he stopped at the end of the cobblestone street where it met the rugged and worn wooden planks of the docks. He sighed loudly and looked up towards the three story sandy brick home at the end of the dock.

The old Khajiit glanced sideways at him, his right ear swiveling back somewhat.

A gentle cool breeze rolled in from the sea, ruffling their clothes, fur and hair as silence fell between the two of them. The calming sound of waves gently lapping the sandy shore not far below their feet beneath the wooden planks of the docks was the only sound to reach their ears.

"How are they?" Zavirr asked after a few minutes.

Haejo's whiskers twitched as he gave a grunt, "Well…your father's shipping business has found success with resuming trade shipments once more. It took Visha quite a few years to realize that dropping the shipment of trade goods to and from Cyrodiil was a mistake."

"Heh, about time the old man got that through his head."

The two of them stepped out onto the docks, walking side-by-side. The boards of the dock creaked and groaned softly beneath their boots, with some boards bending gently beneath them. Haejo drew a deep breath and let out a content sigh while glancing out over the calm surface of the sea, "Ah, it's always refreshing to take walks here early in the morning. Speaking of which, your mother never ceased her daily morning walks along the shore. Her spirit is still young and her heart is very strong. She has managed to bounce back from the affliction to her heart that crippled her all those years ago."

Zavirr breathed deeply, relieved to hear the news that his aged mother was still alive. "And what of my siblings? Has that little Solmanni brat finally managed to claim Kijassa as his?" Haejo responded with a smirk as he looked back ahead of him towards the end of the docks. Zavirr chuckled softly and smiled, "Now it's Yanji's turn to be claimed by a dashing young brat too. Heh, I take it M'adara is doing the same as the Solmanni brat did, no?"

They passed by an old wooden beam frame on the right edge of the dock with a very large and very rusty hook hanging by a tattered rope from the upper beam. It was the hook that the local fishermen living around the docks would always use to display the biggest specimens of their catches. As a child, Zavirr always loved to sit by that wooden frame at midday, when all the fishermen returned with their hauls. He always loved seeing which of the rival fishermen ended up catching the largest fish. He smirked while he reminisced upon those long gone days.

He looked down the dock once again; they were almost there, a little over halfway down the dock.

Haejo chuckled as he glanced to his left at him, "Well…I'll just say that you'll be surprised when you reunite with your family." He reached up and patted Zavirr on his right shoulder before grinning, "After all, you were the one to ask me to never reveal too much about what has become of your family once you returned from your journey."

At that moment, movement at the end of the dock caught his eye, and Zavirr's head snapped towards the three story structure where he'd seen the movement near the left corner of the home.

He stopped dead in his tracks with wide eyes and mouth slightly agape.

A lone figure had just walked out onto the dock from the sandy beach directly behind the house no more than twenty feet away from them; a figure that Zavirr felt should not have been able to walk in such a frail state of old age.

She stared at him, sky blue eyes wide with tears streaming down the snowy grey fur of her cheeks. A hand went up to cover her mouth as she stifled a weak sob of joy.

"Not a day passed where I lost faith," the elderly female Khajiit dressed in a light lilac gown embroidered with red silk said in a weak, yet soft and musical voice after a moment. Then, she smiled.

Without another thought, Zavirr rushed forth the remaining distance and carefully embraced her in his arms. He shut his eyes tightly and pressed his ears flat against his head as he fought back his own tears of joy while burying his nose into her left shoulder.

They stood there in relative silence for several long minutes, wrapped in each other's arms. Slowly, Zavirr stifled his sobs and wiped his tears away before he broke the embrace. The elderly female reached up and placed both her shaky and thin hands on his cheeks, and smiled warmly up at him once more with a quivering lip.

He reached his left hand up and gently brushed the tears away from the snowy grey fur of her right cheek, all the while grinning with joy down at her.

"I'm home at last…mother."

**Ω**

**End Chapter Two**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **5/5/14: Well...it was difficult working on this chapter, as writing romance is still completely new to me. But I finally managed to complete it! I had a lot of trouble figuring out the direction I wanted to go with this chapter. What a lot of people might not realize is that writing creative fiction like this is very difficult, especially for a novice writer like me. It takes a massive amount of passion and a great love for writing to create stories like this. And writing creative fiction is what I truly love to do, it is my greatest passion; it's all I ever want to do. There's nothing I love to do more than writing, aside from fishing.**   
>  **But anyways, while I was listening to one of my favorite songs by Audioslave, _Original Fire_ , I was struck with the idea of telling not only Vriinja's renewed energy now that her lover had returned to her, but also telling of her lovers' renewed sense of purpose with his return. On top of that, a character from TES lore has been introduced in this chapter and will be a major character in much of this story. He may be from TES lore, but very little is known about him. So, it was difficult coming up with a personality that would fit a powerful ruler like him. I can't say for sure that the personality I chose for him is what Bethesda would have in mind for his character, but I believe it will fit nicely into this original story. But anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed Chapter Two! Please tell me what you readers think thus far, as I really struggled with this chapter. I want to know what I need to improve upon for future writing. Your feedback is what helps shape my stories, guys. Your feedback is what fuels my passion to continue creating the quality reading material that I aim to provide you all with. Without your feedback...then I have a feeling my stories will become nothing more than just bland and overall general stories. It's your feedback that helps me the most in writing these stories.**


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